John Finley Griffin
1805 - 1860 (55 years)-
Name John Finley Griffin [1] Birth 1805 Guilford, North Carolina, USA 
Gender Male Burial Jan 1860 Silvis, Hampton, Rock Island, Illinois, USA Death 6 Jan 1860 South Moline Township, Rock Island County, Illinois, USA Person ID I65930 My Genealogy Last Modified 8 Jul 2018
Father George Finley Griffin, b. Between 1766 and 1780, Virginia d. Abt 1840, Washington County, Indiana (Age 74 years) Mother Anne, b. Abt 1780 d. Bef 1814, Probably Guilford County, North Carolina (Age 33 years) Relationship Stepchild Marriage Abt 1800 1st Marriage; Possibly Virginia Family ID F11059 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Mary Jane Giles, b. 1810, Randolph, North Carolina, USA d. 1871, Rock Island, Rock Island, Illinois, USA (Age 61 years) Marriage 24 Jul 1828 Pekin, Washington, Indiana, USA [2] Children 1. Martha Griffin, b. 22 May 1829, Pekin, Salem, Washington County, Indiana d. 1 Jul 1910, Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois (Age 81 years)2. William Franklin Griffin, b. 5 Mar 1831, Pekin, Salem, Washington County, Indiana d. 29 May 1911, Minneapolis, Ottawa County, Kansas (Age 80 years)3. Margaret Griffin, b. 29 Oct 1832, Salem, Washington, Indiana, USA d. 12 Dec 1907, Moline, Rock Island, Illinois, USA (Age 75 years)4. George W. Griffin, b. 13 Oct 1834, Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois d. 1913, Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois (Age 78 years)5. John Finley Griffin, Jr., b. 6 Nov 1836, Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois d. 6 May 1913, Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois (Age 76 years)6. Barbara Ann Griffin, b. 1839, Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois d. Yes, date unknown7. Riley Griffin, b. Oct 1839, Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois d. 1914, Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois (Age 74 years)8. Robert Griffin, b. 25 Aug 1842, Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois d. 28 May 1865, Mobile, Marine Hospital, Alabama In The Civil War (Age 22 years)9. Asbury Asbery Canada Griffin, b. 25 Aug 1843, Coal Town, South Moline Township, Rock Island County, Illinois d. 2 May 1933, Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois; Obit (Age 89 years)10. Sarah Jane Griffin, b. 3 Dec 1846, Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois d. 15 May 1937, Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois (Age 90 years)Family ID F23854 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 24 Jan 2013
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Notes - SOURCE:http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/Detail.asp?Accession=IL4300%5F%5F%2E491&Index=74&QryID=79111.02&PF=true
Accession/Serial #: IL4300__.491 BLM Serial #: IL NO S/N
Names
Patentee: JOHN F GRIFFIN
Survey
State: ILLINOIS
Acres: 40
Metes/Bounds: No
Title Transfer
Issue Date: 8/4/1838
Land Office: Galena
Cancelled: No
U.S. Reservations: No
Mineral Reservations: No
Authority: April 24, 1820: Sale-Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566)
Document Numbers
Document Nr.: 2668
Accession/Serial Nr.: IL4300__.491
BLM Serial Nr.: IL NO S/N
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Block Township Range Fract.
Section Meridian State Counties Survey
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SWSE 5/ 17-N 1-W No 4th PM - 1815 Illinois IL Rock Island
SOURCE:http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/Detail.asp?Accession=IL4300%5F%5F%2E492&Index=75&QryID=79111.02&PF=true
Accession/Serial #: IL4300__.492 BLM Serial #: IL NO S/N
Names
Patentee: JOHN F GRIFFIN
Survey
State: ILLINOIS
Acres: 40
Metes/Bounds: No
Title Transfer
Issue Date: 8/4/1838
Land Office: Galena
Cancelled: No
U.S. Reservations: No
Mineral Reservations: No
Authority: April 24, 1820: Sale-Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566)
Document Numbers
Document Nr.: 2669
Accession/Serial Nr.: IL4300__.492
BLM Serial Nr.: IL NO S/N
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Parts Sec./
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Section Meridian State Counties Survey
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NWNE 8/ 17-N 1-W No 4th PM - 1815 Illinois IL Rock Island
SOURCE:http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/Detail.asp?Accession=IL4300%5F%5F%2E493&Index=76&QryID=79111.02&PF=true
Accession/Serial #: IL4300__.493 BLM Serial #: IL NO S/N
Names
Patentee: JOHN F GRIFFIN
Survey
State: ILLINOIS
Acres: 80
Metes/Bounds: No
Title Transfer
Issue Date: 8/4/1838
Land Office: Galena
Cancelled: No
U.S. Reservations: No
Mineral Reservations: No
Authority: April 24, 1820: Sale-Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566)
Document Numbers
Document Nr.: 2670
Accession/Serial Nr.: IL4300__.493
BLM Serial Nr.: IL NO S/N
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Section Meridian State Counties Survey
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W½SE 4/ 17-N 1-W No 4th PM - 1815 Illinois IL Rock Island
SOURCE:http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/Detail.asp?Accession=IL4320%5F%5F%2E410&Index=77&QryID=79111.02&PF=true
Accession/Serial #: IL4320__.410 BLM Serial #: IL NO S/N
Names
Patentee: JOHN F GRIFFIN
Survey
State: ILLINOIS
Acres: 80
Metes/Bounds: No
Title Transfer
Issue Date: 10/1/1839
Land Office: Galena
Cancelled: No
U.S. Reservations: No
Mineral Reservations: No
Authority: April 24, 1820: Sale-Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566)
Document Numbers
Document Nr.: 3664
Accession/Serial Nr.: IL4320__.410
BLM Serial Nr.: IL NO S/N
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W½NW 13/ 17-N 1-W No 4th PM - 1815 Illinois IL Rock Island
SOURCE:http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/Detail.asp?Accession=IL4360%5F%5F%2E047&Index=78&QryID=79111.02&PF=true
Accession/Serial #: IL4360__.047 BLM Serial #: IL NO S/N
Names
Patentee: JOHN F GRIFFIN
Survey
State: ILLINOIS
Acres: 40
Metes/Bounds: No
Title Transfer
Issue Date: 5/20/1841
Land Office: Galena
Cancelled: No
U.S. Reservations: No
Mineral Reservations: No
Authority: April 24, 1820: Sale-Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566)
Document Numbers
Document Nr.: 5253
Accession/Serial Nr.: IL4360__.047
BLM Serial Nr.: IL NO S/N
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Parts Sec./
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NWNE 11/ 17-N 1-W No 4th PM - 1815 Illinois IL Rock Island
Name: John Finley GRIFFIN
Given Name: John Finley
Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/GenealogyMWeb/PublicLandSalesNameServlet
24 July 2006; SLJuhl, compiler genealogist
Name of Purchaser: Legal Description, Section, Township, Range,Meridian, Date Purchased, County
GRIFFIN JOHN F W2NW 13 17N 01W 4 03/16/1836 ROCK ISLAND
GRIFFIN JOHN F NWNE 11 17N 01W 4 07/12/1836 ROCK ISLAND
GRIFFIN JOHN F W2SE 04 17N 01W 4 10/15/1835 ROCK ISLAND
GRIFFIN JOHN F SWSE 05 17N 01W 4 10/15/1835 ROCK ISLAND
GRIFFIN JOHN F NWNE 08 17N 01W 4 10/15/1835 ROCK ISLAND
Circuit Clerk of Rock Island County
Rock Island County Building
1504 Third Avenue
Rock Island, Illinois 61201
UPDATE: SOME TIME AGO THE INFORMATION BELOW WAS WRITTEN. SINCE THATTIME, A LOT MORE ABOUT THE FAMILY'S ANCESTRAL HISTORY IS NOW KNOWN ASIS INDICATED BY THE GENEALOGY REGISTER REPORT.
A Booklet belonging to Penny Sue Park:
"JOHN FINLEY & JANE GILES GRIFFIN; Pages 1-17. Headstone Committee:
Alice Hunter Anderson (MO), Thomas Fout (TX), Donna Thielen Goves (AZ)
Minnie Mae Griffin Holman (IL), Beatrice Griffin Justice (KS), BonnieFerry Kipp (IL)
Eunice Griffin Reehl (IL), B. Edna Park Waller (SC)
Dedicated, this 18th day of July, 1992, a replacement headstone tomark the final resting places of JOHN FINLEY GRIFFIN and his wife JANEGILES, given with love and gratitude by their numerous descendants.Remarks by Rev. Glen W. Bocox of First United Methodist Church ofMoline, Headstone by Moline Monument company. Excerpts from thenarratives: Page 1: "Six days from now, July 24th, will mark the onehundred sixty fourth anniversary of the date young Jane Giles marriedJohn Finley Griffin in Pekin, Washington County, Indiana. No oneknows now whether or not they were admonished by the preacher to "goforth and multiply", but forth they went and multiply they mostcertainly did. We have only pieces of their story. They didn't writein diarys (diaries) or keep journals for future generations. Theysimply lived their lives as best they could and left it up to thedoggedness and ingenuity of those who came after to search andconjecture. The following pages contain thumbnail sketches of themand the people they came from. These stories are not complete norwill they ever be (perhaps), but the joy for those who search lies inthe discovery of small bits and pieces of information to add to thewhole. Page 3: THE GRIFFIN LINE - JOHN FINLEY GRIFFIN, was born inNC in 1805 (according to census records), but we have no definiteproof as to the exact area of his birth nor the names of his parents. If they followed the old country habit of naming children ( etc...),his parents may have been William and Margaret (much conjecture isstated here)...etc. The Griffins may have lived near the Giles familyin Randolph County, NC, because Finley (as he was called), along withbrothers Robert and George, appeared in Washington County, IN, aboutthe time the Giles' moved there. He married Jane Giles in Pekin inthat county in 1828 when he was 23 and she was 18. they settled in ornear Pekin where her grandfather William Bowman was a majorlandholder. Their first three children, Marth, William and Margaret,were born there.
In 1833, the young family, along with Finley's brother George andJane's sister and brother-in-law, Polly and William Porter, moved tothe Moline area which had been opened up for settlement by thegovernment after the defeat of Black Hawk and his followers. Finley'sfirst land purchase was from the government in 18334, a 400 acretract, paying about one dollar an acre. He sold it the following yearfor ten dollars an acre. this tract was located where sixteenthstreet runs today, south from 23rd (Avenue of the Cities) Avenue and awidth of several blocks on either side. This area was later known asStewartville and was and is home to some of our Park relatives.
Finley discovered coal on the south face of the Moline bluffs,overlooking the Rock River, and opened what was then the second coalmine in the area. This along with farming, became the business andmainstay of his and James's growing family. The home site in Coaltown was located just south and a little west of the present JohnDeere Administration Center, according to the Hunter genealogy,written by Allyn Hunter.
By the time the Rock Island County census was taken in 1855, Finley atage 50 was a man of property and substance. His and Jane's childrennumbered ten and were beginning to be married, five of them toHunters. Life for that time must have been good. However, on 6January 1860, at the age of 55, John Finley Griffin died. He left awife who, unable to read or write, still had to raise the youngerchildren and try to keep things going.
He didn't live to see five of his sons go off to serve in the CivilWar, nor to bear the grief of knowing one of them would never return.Jane did, and struggled through as women alone have always done. Wehave no record of her last years, but from the way her children turnedout, she must have been a strong woman and role model. She died in1871, aged 61."
[Transcribed 09 April 2007, SLJuhl, compiler]
Note: There is a good deal of early basic information on the familiesin this small family booklet, and it is kept in the Park Records.
- SOURCE:http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/Detail.asp?Accession=IL4300%5F%5F%2E491&Index=74&QryID=79111.02&PF=true
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Sources - [S2200] John Finley Griffin, Obtained: 27 January 2006; Edna Park Waller at www.RootsWeb.com; Per SLJuhl (Reliability: 3).
- [S602] www.Ancestry.com, John Finley Griffin Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 Record, (Name: Family History Library Salt Lake City, utah; microfilm 1306388;
www.Ancestry.com, John Finley Griffin Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892Record (Family History Library Salt Lake City, utah; microfilm1306388), Source Medium: Internet
.).
- [S2200] John Finley Griffin, Obtained: 27 January 2006; Edna Park Waller at www.RootsWeb.com; Per SLJuhl (Reliability: 3).